


It's a ____ Story

by ObsidianAbyss



Series: pnat stories [1]
Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, M/M, headcanons, short but sweetly bitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-24 13:12:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13811883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidianAbyss/pseuds/ObsidianAbyss
Summary: Medium of the Shadow and arguably Mr. Garcia’s significant other. He’s run some tests and objectively determined himself to be a semi capable liar. Overdramatic, secretive and scared… these are 3 words that have everything to do with Richard Spender.





	It's a ____ Story

**Author's Note:**

> based on my own headcanons, mixed vaguely enough to still be read as canon to a certain extent? I’m sleepy af and I would love to make this into a longer angst fest but I haven’t read anything before Chapter 5 of pnat in months so…
> 
> -will edit later--

**Start.**

Richard doesn’t hear it often but the Shadow did speak sometimes. Rarely to Lucifer, if at all. Or maybe they did converse but never in front of him.

He prefers that it doesn’t though, speak that is. Not to Lucifer and especially not to Richard.

When he was younger, Lucifer would steer him away from the Shadow’s tentacle like shadows as much as he could. The spirit’s protectiveness got so out of hand that the old wizard demanded that Richard avoid contacting him through his heightened state. That was back when they didn’t know that the spirit wouldn't hurt him, not when it was still recuperating from losing a part of itself.

Richard tried to slow its healing process, giving as much as energy to Lucifer to keep the Shadow at bay. Keeping it weak in case things turned for the worse and it somehow escaped.

The Shadow may have never hurt him but it did scare him. Constantly.

It would lurk in the corners of the classical manor Richard’s heightened state would conjure for him and Lucifer. Sometimes, traces of it would be at the windows too. As if it was just reminding them of its presence. It had been silent for so long and the first time it did start using words would forever haunt him.

“ _Lucky..._ ” It whispered to him in broken words of High Spirit. His training in spirit linguistics and Lucifer’s insistent mocking of his accent has gotten him ahead of most of his colleagues in terms of vocabulary but he never got rid of the slang that came with being a living being. “ _...but… I will... “_

 _Escape_ , Richard doesn’t voice out. He doesn’t like to think about it but on the off chance that the issue with this spirit isn’t resolved within his lifetime, the Shadow will escape and Lucifer will no longer be able to find a vessel to keep it in. Not unless they find a way to weaken it to a point that another spectral can act as its medium.

Older Richard would know that chances of that were low. Repeating the same circumstances from thirteen years ago and allowing someone else to become the medium of _this being_?

But the more innocent spectral of nearly decade ago had been the one to witness how mysterious and _powerful_ the dark spirit was. Its black void of an eye stared at his then blue orbs with mirth.

“ _Lucky... I ended... part... with.. the sense of humor..._ ”

He frowned at those words and pondered on them when he suddenly felt the tentacles wrap around his sunglasses. This was a dream. He knew it was. But he still grabbed onto them, as if this spirit’s strength would be defeated by his fright.

“ _You… trap me… with these…._ ” The Shadow dared to smile at him. Its sun shaped face tilted and wrapped its shadowy limbs almost lovingly around him. “ _But these… will trap you too…_ ”

Early the next morning, he looks in the morning and sees _black_ at the ends of the sclera in his eyes.

He starts to religiously wear his sunglasses instead of hiding them in his pocket from then on.

 

* * *

 

Lucifer is almost 600 years old and all of his experiences as a spirit have failed him when he is faced with his sobbing spectral.

The physical manifestations of the Shadow on its medium started. Much quicker than he expected, which meant that it was healing and gaining power.

It’s easy enough to keep his unwanted roommate at bay, just as long as Richard didn’t use too much of Lucifer’s energy in a fight. He has dealt with many dangerous spirits before, living with one for a little less than a century is nothing to him.

(He actively avoids thinking about his spectral’s mortality in instances like this.)

Richard’s eyes are now nearly as black as the Shadow’s. There were still some whites around his blue irises but within the week, all of that will be gone. His spectral is scared, wearing his sunglasses all the time to hide his eyes from others.

And possibly to remind himself that he has Lucifer to protect him from the Shadow.

He gently takes the dark spectacles away from Richard’s hands and allows the man to hug him, wrapping him around his cape and showering him with warm light. The Shadow wisely stays silent and away because if it did try to interrupt them, Lucifer wouldn’t be able to hold his peace even if the spectral would come to witness his less than kind disposition.

“What do I do?” His spectral sniffs and its disconcerting that the youthful and human blue eyes would be replaced with a dark void of blackness, reminiscent of the spirit possessing him. “I thought I could hide it longer… even Francisco knows! What if Mina finds out? What will she think of me then?”

He would like to point out that the aspiring scientist/doctor would feel more negative if Richard didn’t reveal it to her. But his way of thinking would not be appreciated right now.

So he holds the boy, a man now, yes, but a boy while Lucifer holds him, comforting him of his troubles. He holds his tongue and avoids scolding his spectral on breaking because he knows Richard best. And he appreciates when the stupid boy would be honest enough to cry in front of him like this.

Because no matter what he thinks, Richard isn’t that good of a liar. However, even Lucifer had to admit, Richard could fool him about what he was lying about.

Perhaps when he turns 600, he’ll be able to read his spectral better. By then, he hopes that he can break the man’s habit of secrecy. Teach him trust and to share his duty with others, if only to lighten the burden on his shoulders.

* * *

“You know Rick, I was always wonderin’,” The Science teacher bends down slightly, staring speculatively at his sunglasses. “What color are your eyes?”

“Black like half of my soul, Garcia.” Richard answers, pushing his glasses up snootily. If it flashes light for a moment, nobody questions it. "But I've been told that they were a pretty shade of blue before."

“Only half of your soul?” Garcia raises a brow and smirks. Is he flirting with Richard? That would be pretty sweet of him but not as sweet as that time he prepared them both packed lunch.

“The other half’s as bright as the rising sun, the hope that our youth brings for the future - ” He continues on with a literacy of words and idioms that deserved a Starchman Star.

“The sunglasses though...” A teacher points out.

“The sun would damage them beyond repair! I have a bit of a disease you see, too much light hurts them so I wear these to lessen the pain. It does make me look quite cool and mysterious, doesn’t it?”

Mr. Starchman nods with understanding.

“Quite an overdramatic one, isn’t he?” Ms. Baxter comments to one of the staff members, watching the conversation flow.

Richard hears this and thinks that he’s a much better liar than Lucifer gives him credit for.

Unbeknownst to the blond, Garcia is still looking at him with an unreadable expression.

**End.**

**Author's Note:**

> i love Spender and Lucifer interactions. share me headcanons on pnat you can find me on paradise-runner.tumblr.com <3 or share in comments?


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